Iran’s Khamenei was killed in strikes on Tehran, according to Israeli officials, after joint US-Israeli strikes on Saturday morning.
Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed in Saturday morning strikes on Tehran, according to multiple reports in Israeli and international media.
A photograph of Khamenei’s body has been shown to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after it was retrieved from the rubble of his residence following strikes by US and Israel, Channel 12 reported on Saturday night.
Additionally, a senior Israeli official shared the same information with international media outlets.
The news came after Netanyahu said on Saturday evening that there were “many signs” Khamenei was dead.
“This morning, in a powerful surprise strike, the compound of the tyrant Ali Khamenei was destroyed in the heart of Tehran … and there are many signs that this tyrant is no longer alive,” Netanyahu said in a televised statement.
The strikes prompted Tehran to fire off a missile barrage that sent people running for cover in cities across the Middle East, with drones striking civilian targets in Bahrain and the UAE on Saturday evening.
In 1989, Khamenei became Iran’s ayatollah after the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Khamenei played an important role in the movement that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the 1979 revolution.
The 86-year-old Khamenei is Iran’s commander-in-chief, who has the final say on all policy and religious matters. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), the force under severe US and EU sanctions that is considered to be the military pillar of the Tehran regime, answers directly to him.
Khamenei has been in charge during previous crackdowns on protesters in Iran. He recently said Iran was ready to retaliate against any American attack.
One of the first strikes Saturday hit near Khamenei’s offices in Tehran. It was not immediately clear where Khamenei was at the time, as he had not been seen for days.
Tehran has not yet commented on Israel’s claims. Earlier on Saturday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Khamenei was alive “as far as I know”.
